While warmer months offer plenty of fun activities like beach trips, hikes, and sitting on your porch, they also bring pesky mosquitoes. According to NPR, the warmer, wetter weather is helping mosquitoes thrive.
What's happening?
East Middlesex Mosquito Control Project entomologist Doug Bidlack said that the warmer weather is causing a shift in mosquito populations. Other entomologists noted that higher temperatures could alter their behaviors, their habitat, and "even change how pathogens incubate and spread inside their bodies," per NPR.
The changing weather is linked to rising temperatures caused by planet-warming gases.
Locals in Massachusetts are noticing the shift in behavior. Abigail Krich-Starr, who lives in eastern Massachusetts, told NPR, "Just being in our backyard each year, in recent years, has become harder and harder."
She added, "Last year … we were just getting eaten alive out there."
Why is changing mosquito behavior concerning?
Mosquitoes aren't just pesky insects that annoy you and make you itch. They also carry diseases, such as "malaria, dengue, West Nile virus, chikungunya, yellow fever, and Zika," according to the World Mosquito Program.
It's no surprise NPR reported that mosquitoes are the "deadliest animal on the planet."
In 2024, a Washington Post analysis showed that the average number of mosquito days — days with an average humidity of at least 42 percent combined with temperatures between 50 and 95 degrees Fahrenheit — is lengthening by multiple days, weeks, or even longer.
In Wilmington, North Carolina, mosquito days have increased by 11 days since 1979.
Additionally, mosquitoes are breeding and creating hybrid species. According to Utah State University researchers, southern house mosquitoes have migrated north and are breeding with northern house mosquitoes. Both of these species carry West Nile Virus, and the new hybrid mosquito is better at spreading it.
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What mosquitoes? 😎 What's being done about mosquitoes changing their behaviors?
Director of Public Health for Sudbury, Mass, Vivian Zeng, has some tips for keeping yourself safe during mosquito season. She suggested checking whether your area has a mosquito surveillance program, which can help you monitor the risk level in your neighborhood.
If you plan to be outside between dusk and dawn, consider rescheduling, as this is when mosquitoes are most active.
Additionally, you can limit exposure by wearing long sleeves and pants. Lastly, "Use an EPA-approved DEET repellent, and/or a permethrin spray for clothing and outdoor gear," per NPR.
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